


Merge

by BurningPlumBranches



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Final Fantasy VII, Pokemon - Fandom, all of them - Fandom
Genre: Multi, Self-Insert, i dont even care if anyone reads this, i guess i will add tags and characters as they come along?, if you have any questions about what is going on here jut ask
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-07-29 18:55:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20087110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningPlumBranches/pseuds/BurningPlumBranches
Summary: We all thought it was crazy, until all the worlds collided and turned reality on it's head. Now one creator must try to unravel the mess that was made and make it right again.





	1. ?!?!?!

Who am I? what am I? where am I? 

It started with a storm. I live in Arkansas and in the summer, bad storms are normal, but something seemed off about this one. As the sirens went off, indicating rotation, a tornado, an earthquake also ruptured. We get those, but usually you can't even feel them. I felt this one. I was already hunkered down, but tried to get up and make it to a door frame, still holding my poor, frightened cat, Heidi. The lights went out, and I sat in darkness, unphased by it in itself, and more concerned with two disasters happening at once. I live in an apartment on the second floor, so a tornado or earthquake on their own are bad enough, but together? Heidi was crying in my arms and trying to get away, clawing into my shirt and tearing the fabric, just like she had a few months ago in our last apartment when the neighbor had left something on the stove and set his kitchen on fire. We'd fled there and waited outside for the firemen. No fleeing from this. As my home shook around me and the sky rumbled with thunder, I wondered if this was how I was going to die. I heard something cracking, was it the foundations of the building? Or... the roof. I felt stuff falling into my hair and looked up at the large crack in the ceiling, but instead of seeing a stormy sky I saw..... the cosmos. 


	2. My Name is *̸̨̙̪̪͇̻̖̑̈̔̚̕͢ͅ*̴̻̲͚̩̣͖͖̖͋̔̑̒͑*̤̜̠̺͓̻̦̓̀̾͘̕͠*̶̳̘͇̜̫̬̠̗͋̔͌̀̂̎̕͜*̴̡̦͓̱̣̞̅̔͂̊͌͋̚͘*̸̨̲̯͕̲̀̉̑̔͊͊͊̚*̴͈̩̻̣̭̙̦̠̼͐͑̊͐̾͆̑͟

My Name is *̸̨̙̪̪͇̻̖̑̈̔̚̕͢ͅ*̴̻̲͚̩̣͖͖̖͋̔̑̒͑*̤̜̠̺͓̻̦̓̀̾͘̕͠*̶̳̘͇̜̫̬̠̗͋̔͌̀̂̎̕͜*̴̡̦͓̱̣̞̅̔͂̊͌͋̚͘*̸̨̲̯͕̲̀̉̑̔͊͊͊̚*̴͈̩̻̣̭̙̦̠̼͐͑̊͐̾͆̑͟

I like to think of myself as an author and an artist. While I don't have any real books published, I'm working on one. I have a few fanfics on a certain web-sight, and I like submitting my artwork into art fairs. Sometimes I win. 

I like watching youtube videos and I sometimes get hung up on watching videos about one topic or another. In the past year, I got interested in a certain person. They say he is one of the most well document people in history. This.... person, I never met, went from odd to insane. I still don't know what made me so interested in learning about this person at first. I was like looking at something so absurd that I just couldn't look away, then, I was scared to look away. There was one idea that terrified me to the core.

"Dimensional Merge".

Bad Rick and Morty references aside, it sounded more like Heaven's Gate to me. Even if it did happen, and all the fictional worlds collided with ours, it could mean the destruction of the world. How could all of it fit? How could Equestria and the America from Fall-Out coexist? There was no logic behind it, and I put it out of my mind, until I woke up from that storm, and that earthquake. I was lying in the hall outside my bathroom, the door-frame I'd taken shelter in. 

"Meowth~" I heard

Heidi was peering down at me. I reached up to pet her. My hand.... was a little darker, as if I'd gone tanning, and my shirt sleeve seemed different. Heidi seemed different. There was something on her head. A.... yellow gem?

"Meowth~" she called again. I sat up in shock. She looked like.... a Pokemon? A Meowth! I sat up, feeling something on me, a blanket? I was teal, at heavy. No it was a cloak of some kind, like nothing I owned. I scooped up Heidi, and looked around. I tried turning on the lights to the bathroom and the power was still out. I went into my room and opened the curtains for light, then turned to my dresser mirror. 

I did not look like me, but I knew the face I saw. Darker skin, as if I'd been tanning, silver hair because why not, freckles because they're hella cute, but the same blue-green eyes because I always liked the color of my eyes. Flavia, my D&D character, a bard, 5'2 and average build. Even my cloths were what I had designed for her. A teal hooded cloak, billowy white tunic, black tights, knee high boots, and a purple sash. 

I put Heidi down, and fed her and went to go look around outside. There were very few people out. No crews working on the power lines. No cars driving. Some other strange looking people were looking about, just as puzzled as I was. I likely looked as strange as they did. I went back inside and sat down. I checked my phone, no service. I needed to get somewhere that I could learn more information. Starbucks? I grabbed my keys and wallet and went to go start my car and the engine wouldn't even click. I guess I'd have to ride my bike. It was a nice bike, had a basket and a place on the back you could tie something down to. I got a bag this time, so I could put some water as well as my cell phone charger in, and took off down the mostly empty roads to the cafe, that teal cloak found itself in the basket first....

Some other people had either walked or ridden bikes to Starbucks too. They had power, luckily. It seemed to be both a cafe and pub now. An orc barista was behind the counter. 

"Hey, did you play D&D too, bard?" she asked me "Maybe you could give us some entertainment?"

"Haha, right, but I didn't bring any musical instruments with me." I said, "I'm just trying to find out what's going on."

As is the cosmos was answering my question, the TV in the cafe came on by itself. 

"Greetings everyone, it is I, your Deity, Christine Weston Chandler, CPU of the Commodore 64, coming to you from the Sonichu Headquarters in the City of CWC-ville...."

"Oh no...." I muttered, the feeling of dread washing over me. 


	3. A Summon to Creators; I'll Pass

A summon to all creators by the so called "goddess". No one knew who all of them were, luckily for me. On the sight I posted my fic to, I was known as Burning Plum Branches. At the art fairs I was known by my real name. After the merge I could only answer my D&D character's name "Flavia", as I learned when I told the orc barista what to put on my cup. She put "Valva" because a starbucks barista is still a starbucks barista, even if they're now an 7' orc. There were plenty of people who played D&D and wouldn't be considered a creator. I just had to lay low, be a bard named Flavia, try to find my family and make sure they're ok. Most should be asleep, hopefully. The Merge turned reality upside down, and that person said many would die, or sleep for decades if they didn't merge with their counterparts. I should be lucky I merged with Flavia. I made my D&D character much like I truly am in real life. We're even the same height. 

I sipped my ta slowly. Someone came up to where I was sitting and asked me for a song. I guess I can sing still, I was in my church choir after all. 

"Ok then, what would you like to hear?"

"Anything, please, there's no internet...." the stranger begged.

I got into the middle of the cafe/pub and and stood on a chair. "I'll sing a song that everyone likes and feel free to sing along."

"Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again, because a vision softly creeping, left it's seeds while I was sleeping....."

It was A Capella, but still appreciated well. And then someone requested Hallelujah after that, and everyone accompanied me for Cups. By this time the cafe/pub had become very crowded, people had come in to hear me. I saw a dark clothed man in the back, he stuck out because he had rather wild, spiky blond hair...... 


	4. The First Fictional Character I Met Was Cloud Strife

Cloud Strife, from Final Fantasy VII, my favorite video game. The Merge ment that all the fictional worlds and their inhabitants would come together. I guess I was still shy despite merging with my bold D&D counterpart, and had left the starbucks without saying anything to him, but he followed me out, "Hey can I use your bike?"

"Excuse me?"

"Mine wont start and I need to get somewhere, I have gil..."

"G-gil?" I blinked "You realize your not in your world anymore?"

Wonder-boy looked up at the sky and blinked, "I figured as much..."

"Just where do you _think_ you're headed?" I asked him, "This world isn't even this world anymore. Everything has been all tangled up with everything else. I need to find my family and make sure they're ok."

"Can you fight a dragon?"

"I'm not sure....never tried..."

"You can't make it on your own can you? Let me help you... for the bike."

"Help me, and I'm sure my dad can help you with your bike." I offered, "Help me find my family and we'll find him. He's a great mechanic."

"Deal. My name is Cloud."

"I know, my name is Flavia."

"How do you...." he asked

"The Merge merged a bunch of worlds what were fictional to us before. I recognized you. You're very easy to spot."

"Right, I don't know much about that other than the talk from that cafe... or is it a pub?"

I got on the back of my bike as Cloud got on the actual seat, "Where do we go?" 

"My grandparents house first, that way."

My grandparents lived in the same town as me, but their neighborhood was up several steep hills. So glad I'd run into Cloud, really. We made it to their house and I went around to the back yard and crawled through the dog-door to let Cloud in.

"I don't think my dad is here, his truck isn't out there, but I should still check on them." We went upstairs and I found them in their bed, sleeping, unable to wake them. "At least they're alive...." 

"Their power is working." Cloud pointed out

"They have an automatic generator." I said "Should last a few weeks. There's also gas, for the stove and water heater. We should stay here tonight, it's getting late. We can eat, shower, I'll need to go check on my cat in the morning, then we can go by my dad's and see if he's asleep, or.... something else...."

I showered first, then made dinner while Cloud took his. Dad must've been by recently, because I found his some of his clean laundry in the basement, and took out a shirt and some sweat-pants for Cloud to put on. I put on a pair of my grandma's pajamas while my bard cloths were in the wash. My grandparent's have 4 bedrooms. I used to live with them and took up my old bedroom and Cloud took one down-stairs that used to be my uncle's. 

As I lay in bed, it struck me how bizarre this was. I've just met a fictional character and now he's spending the night at my grandparents house. 

I also worried about my dad. Was he alive? Had he merged with a fictional character? I hoped he could fix Cloud's bike. I knew Cloud was worried about his friends, the other characters from Final Fantasy VII. That thought made me shoot up in bed. If Cloud was here.... so was Sephiroth, and _other_ villains for that matter. This was going to be... something.....


	5. Intermission Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so i kinna thought i'd explain what's going on in this .... thing.... because ya'll reading it? I did't think anyone would tbh

So in case some of you have never heard of Christine Weston Chandler, aka Chris-Chan, here is a link that will explain, because ... it's a long ass story:

<https://sonichu.com/cwcki/CWCipedia>

Warning: sometimes this sight goes down. 

Warning: Some of that context may not be suitable. It's just not suitable. 

If you don't like reading (what are you doing on AO3?) there is also youtube videos

here <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5-Q2hBGlFgah5hVIS0RcWg>

here <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_3pplzbKMZsP5zBH_6SVJQ>

here <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbWcXB0PoqOsAvAdfzWMf0w>

here <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHFftV4zFeQNUDfo1fBh53Q>

and here <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrtMbMm4Rt3qJ1SebeNCxA>

to name a few youtubers who mostly make videos about Chris. there is so much out there about this person, that it will take you months of binge to get through it. 

* * *

Flavia Uaccam, My D&D character

Heidi, my cat


	6. Like Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where as Flavia prepares for her adventure.

It came on the radio that morning. If there were people in the house who were in that deep sleep, you should hang a white sheet outside. Cloud had found the storm radio in the room he's slept in and was messing with it that morning when I came to the kitchen. Some inklings of order was trying to form. I'd seen it in the Starbucks right from the beginning. Hang a white sheet, it said, then the sleeping ones would be collected and taken to the hospital where they could be looked after until they woke up. I hung a sheet on the flagpole outside. I left their wallets on them for the IDs. 

Before we left, I took a tarp to patch the crack in my roof, and we went back to my apartment. On the way I saw many sheets hanging on flagpoles, banisters, out windows, on door ways, and the like. They looked like ghosts, billowing in the breeze. I shivered, the weather had turned cold, for some reason. It was August, but it felt like October. The weather was unsure of itself, just like the whole world now. 

As we passed a buss stop, I noticed something, "Wait, stop here a sec."

A vending machine that hadn't been there before. I thought back to the good ol' days of 2016, when Obama was still the president, and everyone was playing Pokemon Go! This bus stop had been a poke-stop. The prices were low, really low, only 90 cents for one ball. I couldn't remember how many pokecoins they'd cost in the app. Curiously I fed the vending machine a dollar and pushed on the button for a ball. A ball came tumbling out. It was smaller than I'd expected, a little bigger then the size of a golf ball until I pushed the button on the ball and it expanded to the size of a baseball. 

"What is that?"

"It's a Pokeball, for storing a Pokemon." I explained

"What's a Pokemon?"

I explained it as best as I could for the rest of the ride, and explained what I planned to do with the pokeball. Since we'd be going off for what would likely be days or weeks, I couldn't leave my cat alone. Since Heidi was a Meowth now, she could go in the ball, and be safe with me. As soon as we got home I attempted to capture her in the ball. She hated it and popped out twice before staying in. With Cloud's help, we got the tarp secured on the roof to keep water from getting in through the crack. Then I packed a small, over the shoulder bag. I packed a few under things, and another pair of pants along with water, a first aid kit, my flash light, matches and some food. I also took my harmonica, a wooden recorder, and when he wasn't looking a composition book. This book was my handwritten manuscript, held together by tape and faith, it had notes, drawings, corrections, additions and more. I was planning out my novel in this book before typing an actual manuscript to send to a publisher. I could not let anything happen to it, or anyone find it. With these things, and Heidi in a pokeball, I was all packed. We had to travel light on a bike. 

"Can we get another bike?" 

"We can see if a store that sells them is open, or find someone who call sell us one, but with cars not running, I think they're going to be in high demand."

Sure enough, we get to Wal-Mart and it had been looted, toilet-paper and bikes were all gone. The near-by bike shop had been fortified and wouldn't even let you in unless you payed for a bike first and they had inflated their prices big time. We'd wasted enough daylight, and had to get going if we wanted to try to make it to my dad's house. He lived a few miles away, less than 10 minutes, by car. Bike however....... It wouldn't be so bad if Arkansas didn't have so many hills. We did get there with daylight left. I was glad to see his truck, but, no dad. He wasn't anywhere in his house. His roommate was sleeping on a recliner, uncollected because no one knew he was there. I searched my dad's room, and found his dog-tags from his years in the Army and hung them around my neck, tucking them under my shirt. I hung out a sheet for his roommate and we left. 

"Maybe he's awake and looking for you."

I shook my head, "He would've come to my grandparents house first, then mine."

"Maybe we passed him and he didn't look like himself, and you don't look like you anymore."

"I don't know who he could've merged with. He didn't play games like me, or anything like that...."

We took a break at another cafe. We wanted to see if there was anywhere that people were going to reunite with lost friends and family after the Merge. A refugee sort of center. There was, at the train station down town. It wasn't far from where we were at all, we could get there in about an hour and a half. Apparently, the trains were running too. We get there and it's nearly dark out, and there is a ton of people with signs and cards and pictures. The line for the info desk is long, and they were about to close. However, cots and food were open and free, so we camped at the train station.

"You could leave tomorrow on a train. I'll find my dad here, more than likely."

"I have no idea where my friends could be."

"I do. I think they're out west, like Nevada, or New Mexico. Those places are slimier to where Midgar was. That or they are on a different Continent.... It's going to be really hard to cross the ocean. You may as well check out west first."

"I'll help you find your dad first."

I let it drop. If I knew anything from playing FFVII and all the games connected to it, is that Cloud has a hero complex and is very stubborn. He's made up his mind and was dead set on helping me, I couldn't refuse. Cloud is not a bad character to have in your corner. Especially when you have zero fighting skills. All I had in the way of a weapon was the can of pepper-spray on my key-chain. Was I a Mary-Sue? At least I was somewhat aware.....

"If we don't find him here, we'll head out west and see if we can't find your friends. After this, I don't have any other leads or where he could be."

Cloud nodded in agreement. So it was settled. 


	7. When You're Alone and Life is Making You Lonely You Can Always Go.... Downtown!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavia reflects on the changes to her world.  
((I had to research train routes))

"So... from here.... we'll go north-east to Chicago... then there we'll switch lines to Elko.... we decided on Nevada first right?"

"Yeah.... if anything I think Reno will go to a city he shares a name with... especially if there is gambling."

I snorted, "Reno is a knock-off Las Vegas, or so I've heard."

"So why are we going to Elko?"

"That's where the station is. The main one anyway. We'll have to see if smaller lines are open when we get there."

"How come there isn't any transit within this city?"

"There is, we could go downtown and see if the street car is running. Only thing that's good for is tourists and bar-crawls. It's only slightly faster than walking. It all depends of where you are. Arkansas is sort-of a backwater state and the second poorest state. We're just a bunch of bare-foot hill-billies to the rest of this country."

"So what did you hear about your dad?"

"Nothing. I gave them his information as best as I could. If he turns up in the system they'll let him know I'm looking for him. I can check in anywhere about it and so can he, if he's awake." I'd given the info desk one of his dog-tags for ID since I couldn't even write my own dad's name, or mine for that matter. It had his name, and blood-type on it after all. I still kept the other.

"So we're good to go?"

"Almost." I sighed, "The next train for Chicago doesn't leave until tomorrow morning, at 4am! Looks like we're crashing here again. Did you want to go downtown and look around? There's a Japanese garden, some museums, a market and some really nice restaurants. Also over a dozen poke-stops and I could use to get a few things for my cat before we leave."

"I need to go get my bike and try to walk it here." he said. I nodded. It was plenty early. I wish we'd done that sooner, maybe parked it at my grandparents or even my dad's. Likely it's be safer at the train station. I headed down town alone, after getting Cloud a map and marking the fastest walking rout to the starbucks his bike was still at. 

Downtown Little Rock, a place I'd often went to. Race for the Cure, Women's Rights March, Home Coming Dance, the India Food Festival, Farmer Markets, visiting the historic houses and art museums, the Music Hall, the Jazz Club, all the places I was used to going and seeing... was very different now. Pokemon were crawling everywhere, for one. Common rattatas and pidgeys mostly. Several kids, teens and young adults who'd merged into their OCs were running around trying to catch them. I saw a few role players, like myself. Most were beefy, armored out fighters. Some were wizards and druids. 

I made my way, past the Robinson Theater, now looking much like a opera house from the 1700s instead of the newly remolded, modern building, the River Market, still much the same as it had been, except there were now way more interesting shops and stalls, and past the ruined mural that had been made of tiles painted by school children. It was collapsing after the earthquake. At the Clinton Library, the last poke-stop on this street, I turned around. I winded my way back through the city, passing, now occupied, historic homes, and a much larger public library. This gave me the idea to buy some books for what would be a 3 day trip out west. I went to a books and gifts shop and bought a few. After that I continued back down River Market Ave., the same way I came. Passing back through the shops and stalls, to grab a bite to eat, a stall caught my eye. It looked like something from an RPG game. It was selling potions and charms and weapons and wands. What caught my eye was a mandolin. I was regretting not grabbing my guitar or violin back home to bring with me. I thought it'd way us down on my bike. I had no idea how to play the mandolin, but I was pretty good with string instruments, and hey, I was a bard, right?

"How much?" I asked the stall keeper, pointing at the Mandolin

"$400, but since you're a bard, I'll cut you a deal, $350!"

Hardly a deal. I laughed and then but on the smooze. A bard trick, right? Charisma advantage~ "For that old thing? Looks like it's made from rotten drift wood! How bout $75?"

I guess the Dice Gods were not in my favor, I did not get the mandolin. It was getting late. I'd gotten Heidi some things from the Poke-stop, I'd gotten some books. I headed back to the train station to get some rest and wait for Cloud. 


End file.
